After 126 years in business as an iconic American retailer Sears Holdings has reportedly turned down a bid by Chairman Eddie Lampert to help it stay open But Lamperts hedge fund ESL Investments reportedly wants to challenge the decision per unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation CNBC reported The hedge fund will reportedly refer to the advisory fees incurred by Sears over its bankruptcy which are said to make up a portion of the retailers administrative expenses But unnamed sources in the report indicated that the move will reportedly put the retailer which has over 50 000 employees in the ranks closer to liquidation The retailer reportedly intends to make its liquidation plans known on Tuesday morning Jan 8 Last week according to CNBC the companys advisors revealed that it would give ESL until Tuesday morning to revise the bid before announcing a decision but there are several obstacles in the way The biggest issue blocking the deal is the 18 billion Lampert added to his offer by forgiving ESL debt owed through a credit bid The restructuring committee advising Sears has concerns about whether or not the bankruptcy judge will allow Lampert to use a credit bid without looking at a pending investigation about the companys transactions that occurred when he was at the helm In addition the money is not enough to cover the fees and vendor payments owed so Sears considers it administratively insolvent If the two sides cant come to an agreement Sears which hasnt turned a profit since 2010 will have to liquidate The retailer which started in the 1880s as a mail order catalog and was once the biggest department store chain in the country has been brought down by online and offline competitors as well as the 2008 financial crisis Sears had 68 000 workers and 687 locations at the time of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October LATEST INSIGHTS Our data and analytics team has developed a number of creative methodologies and frameworks that measure and benchmark the innovation thats reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem Check out the latest PYMNTS report on PSD2